The Covenant Family - Redemption
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1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
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FCF: Discontent with Ordinary
FCF: Discontent with Ordinary
It’s really easy to make the radical decision to follow God look like the most rewarding and powerful.
Yet, isn’t it the family that shapes futures and raises up men and women more than anything else.
We do it in how we think about church...
“This has been the vicious cycle of evangelical revivalism… The regular preaching of Christ from all of the Scriptures, baptism, the Supper, the prayers of confession and praise, and all of the other aspects of ordinary Christian fellowship are seen as too ordinary.”
― Michael S. Horton, Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World
“We’ve forgotten that God showers his extraordinary gifts through ordinary means of grace, loves us through ordinary fellow image bearers, and sends us out into the world to love and serve others in ordinary callings.”
― Michael S. Horton, Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World
The Importance of the Covenant Family
The Importance of the Covenant Family
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
One generation speaks to the next.
5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
“commanded our fathers to teach to their children.”
2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.
Now, on the negative side,
why do we raise children and grandchildren this way?
8 and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Stubborn, rebellious
not faithful to God.
Basically, they did what was right in their own eyes.
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The Importance of the Covenant Family...
To raise up the next generation and the generation after that...
to know the Lord and fear him.
Yet, this view of family and children stood in contrast to the Greek and Roman world.
ILL. Greek Culture’s view of children
Everett Ferguson,
Children… “were regarded as important for the security of the community and of their parents. The Romans viewed children as particularly vulnerable, physically and mentally weak. Puberty was commonly regarded as bringing not only physical changes but also the ability to reason; modern parents tend to draw the opposite conclusion about adolescence.”
The ancient world beginning around 230 B.C. was typically a one-child family. There were simply too many mouths to feed. There was sometimes a desire for two sons, i case one of them died.
“The answer to overpopulation was infanticide. Abortions were often attempted, but not in frequently were fatal to the mother; they were made illegal under Septimius Severus (200AD). More frequent was the exposure of the newborn child. The unwanted child was simply left to die on the trash heap or in some isolated place. Sometimes slave traders would take the child to be reared in slavery. Girl babies might be taken to be reared for a life of prostitution.”
Like the modern question of when is a human life is a person and entitled to protection of the law… For the Greeks and Romans, “the newborn was not considered a part of the family until acknowledged by the father as his child and received into the family in a religious ceremony. Thus, they did not consider exposure murder but the refusal to admit the child to society.”
So it really comes a “culture shock” when Jesus says...
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
God’s Plan of Redemption Through the Family
God’s Plan of Redemption Through the Family
Adam
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Noah
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
Abraham
16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
God pledges himself to Abraham and descendants.
And even more magnificent...
God promises to bless the entire world.
But how?
Through this family.
This family (and God’s work in this family)...
will be the blessing to the entire world.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Isaac (Abraham’s son)
4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
Jacob (Abraham’s grandson)
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
At Pentecost, Peter preaches for them to repent and embrace the promise of the Gospel...
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Heirs of Abraham by Faith
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
So those who have faith in Christ,
are the descendants of Abraham.
We are blessed by God’s promise to him.
And all the families of the earth will be blessed through us (as Abraham’s family).
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App. The best discipleship tool that God has given to his church...
bringing children into your home.
Love them, teach them...
live before them what it means to experience the grace of God.
Stats:
Birthrate among Christians in North America...
Birthrate of Muslims in North America...
Birthrate of Mormons in North America...
Yet, we think that legislation is our problem.
The Function of a Covenant Family
The Function of a Covenant Family
From Psalm 78:
(v. 1) “Listen, Incline your ears”
(rest of the chapter) “What God has done.”
(v. 4b) “the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might and the wonders he has done.”
(v. 3-4) “our fathers told us.”
“not hide them from their children”
“tell to the coming generation”
(v. 5) “He commanded fathers to teach their children”
(v. 6b-7) “children yet unborn”
“arise and tell them to their children”
But why?
(v. 6a) “that the next generation might know them” (God’s testimony and law).
(v. 7) “so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments”
Listen intently
Know God and His works
Tell it to your children...
that they may tell it to their children
All this so that...
they may put their hope in God and keep his commandments.
Hope - remember God’s past faithfulness in order to bolster your hope for the future.
The ESV Study Bible (Chapter 78)
Sadly, far too many Israelites, and too many generations, received the covenant as an external arrangement but did not embrace it from their hearts; thus they were “stubborn and rebellious,” their heart was not steadfast, and their spirit was not faithful to God.
Ordinary...
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Teach diligently
Talk about it...
When you sit in your house
When you walk down the road
When you lie down to sleep
When you wake up
Wear these things around
Write on the walls of your house.
Not difficult things...
Intentional
and very challenging to sustain.
The power of the living God.
20 “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’
21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes.
23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.
24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.
25 And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’
“So how can flawed men hope to be faithful fathers? The answer is that you must have a new father. The only good fathers in this world have a perfect Father in heaven.”
Yet, the covenant family is no guarantee.
David’s sons and Saul’s son
Absalom tries to kill David
Jonathan is a faithful friend who loves the Lord.
Heirs of Abraham by Faith
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Todd Matocha on the Covenant Family:
It is noteworthy that the first commandment regulating man’s relationship with fellow man is given to children.
The stability of the covenant home is dependent on the union of husband and wife.
Divorce, although permissible in cases of unfaithfulness and willful desertion, is to be avoided. “Holy marriage,” observed John Murray, “is an indispensable means of conserving and promoting godly families and the nurture of faith; it is the institution for the propagation of godly life. When the proprieties which govern such marriages are desecrated, then the gates are flung open to the most violent of vices.”(Principles of Conduct, p. 249)
Sure, parenting is difficult work, but it is also rewarding work. Christian fathers and mothers, you have the great privilege of introducing your children to a merciful and gracious God.
When the Christian community takes seriously the role of the covenant family God is glorified and church and society are strengthened.
Westminster Larger Catechism:
Q. 127. What is the honour that inferiors owe to their superiors?
A. The honour which inferiors owe to their superiors is, all due reverence in heart, word, and behaviour; prayer and thanksgiving for them; imitation of their virtues and graces; willing obedience to their lawful commands and counsels; due submission to their
corrections; fidelity to, defence, and maintenance of their persons and authority, according to their several ranks, and the nature of their places; bearing with their infirmities, and covering them in love, that so they may be an honour to them and to their
government.
Q. 128. What are the sins of inferiors against their superiors?
A. The sins of inferiors against their superiors are, all neglect of the duties required toward
them; envying at, contempt of, and rebellion against, their persons and places,
in their lawful counsels, commands, and corrections; cursing, mocking and all such
refractory and scandalous carriage, as proves a shame and dishonour to them and their
government.
Q. 129. What is required of superiors towards their inferiors?
A. It is required of superiors, according to that power they receive from God, and that
relation wherein they stand, to love, pray for, and bless their inferiors; to instruct,
counsel, and admonish them; countenancing, commending, and rewarding such as do
well; and discountenancing, reproving, and chastising such as do ill; protecting, and
providing for them all things necessary for soul and body: and by grave, wise, holy, and
exemplary carriage, to procure glory to God, honour to themselves, and so to preserve
that authority which God hath put upon them.
Q. 130. What are the sins of superiors?
A. The sins of superiors are, besides the neglect of the duties required of them, and
inordinate seeking of themselves, their own glory, ease, profit, or pleasure;
commanding things unlawful, or not in the power of inferiors to perform; counseling,
encouraging, or favouring them in that which is evil; dissuading, discouraging, or
discountenancing them in that which is good; correcting them unduly; careless exposing,
or leaving them to wrong, temptation, and danger; provoking them to wrath; or any way
dishonouring themselves, or lessening their authority, by an unjust, indiscreet, rigorous, or
remiss behaviour.
One Blogger on Covenant Family:
“Anti-covenantal, pietistic thinking works this way: “I caught my son using porn. That’s not how we taught him. He should know better. How could he .. .?” Covenantal thinking works this way: “Father, it looks as though lust has a foothold in our home. We come before You in the name of Jesus to confess our fault in this.””
“The whole point of the law was to talk about God’s grace and freedom. The point of parenting is to celebrate God’s grace and freedom, and this means tons of confession of sin and forgiveness. We are Christians: this means we know what to do with sin. So the tenor of our homes must be joy.”
Yet, we teach them obedience.